An accountant is a professional who helps a company or organization to manage its money.
An accountant may work in a number of industries, including government, retail and banking, but the most common industry for an accountant is the services industry.
The most common industries for an accountant are:
- Manufacturing
- Wholesale trade
- Retail trade (includes auto dealers)
- Finance and insurance
These industries employ over 80% of the working accountants in the United States.
Manufacturing is by far the largest industry, accounting of all employed accountants. Manufacturing includes companies that make things like food and chemicals and machinery and fabricated metal products (which include items like aluminum cans).
Wholesale trade involves companies that buy products in large quantities from manufacturers or other wholesale trade companies, then sell them to stores or other businesses in smaller quantities.
Retail trade involves companies that sell their products directly to individual consumers in smaller quantities.
Finance and insurance involves companies that deal with money. These can be banks, credit unions, mortgage lenders, real estate brokers, insurance agencies or companies that sell financial services like investing money or managing investments for clients.
In the services industry, accountants play an important role in ensuring that business transactions are carried out legally and ethically. In addition, they prepare tax returns and provide advice on how businesses can keep their costs down. Accountants in this industry may be employed by a variety of types of companies, from large multinationals to local retailers.
Accounting is a popular job for those who like detail work and who want to help people with their finances.
Accountants perform a wide range of services, such as tax preparation, bookkeeping and payroll processing. Some accountants manage companies’ financial records, keeping track of cash flow and profits.
Accountants need good math skills, as well as an understanding of the business world and how it operates. Since they often work with numbers all day, they also need to be comfortable with computers and other office equipment.
Aspiring accountants can learn more by attending college or university classes in accounting and finance. They can also get experience by participating in student organizations on campus or working part-time at a company that requires accounting services.
Many accountants start their careers with a bachelor’s degree in accounting from a four-year college or university. In some states, however, it is possible to become a certified public accountant (CPA) by passing a series of exams.
The accounting field is one of the most diverse and broad-ranging. While you will find many accountants working for businesses or corporations, others work in a wide array of industries and all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Accountants work in a variety of industries from banking to manufacturing, from retail to information technology. Accountants keep track of financial records for businesses and individuals, help them plan for future income and expenses, and prepare tax forms.
Accounting is a very broad field that covers a range of businesses and industries. Accountants work in public accounting firms, industry, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations. They may specialize in one of many areas, such as auditing, tax preparation, or finance.
As a person in finance or accounting, you need to have a strong interest in the “big picture” and a talent for communicating with both technical and non-technical audience. For example, if you’re a teacher at a community college, you will be working with students who want to learn about business and technology. If you work at a CPA firm, you will be working with small business owners who aren’t familiar with financial terminology. If you work at an accounting firm like PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC), you will be working on government projects and private company audits.
If you want to get into accounting, there are certain questions we suggest you ask yourself: What type of accounting do I want to do? Do I want to work in public accounting (at a CPA firm like PWC) or in industry (for example, at a manufacturing company)? Do I want to work in the public sector (for example, for the federal government) or in the private sector?
If you want to be an accountant, the best thing to do is find a company that does something you enjoy and then talk to people there. That way you will learn what kind of accounting they do, and also whether you would enjoy working there.